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    Political Correctness Strikes Again


    Created on Friday, July 23, 2010        Bookmark and Share

    Home    Blog    2010    July


    Political correctness got over on us again recently.

    One of my favorite comedians (and start of a fantastic show on FX - Louie. Watch it here), Louis C.K., was recently on NPR to do an interview about his life and new show. Not long after the interview the entire show was banned from the great state of Mississip. Sounds drastic, doesn't it? Surely Louie must have really let go with a real zinger to have that kind of effect.

    Well, here it is:
      Louis CK: But if I’m with a woman and she wants to be with me, she must like me. I definitely have sex with my T-shirt on, always. I haven’t had sex without a shirt on, God, since I was about 23.”
      Terry Gross: Is that true?
      Louis CK: Yeah, I just don’t think that’s fair. I mean, you know, let her think she’s with somebody decent, you know? … I do have sex sometimes on the show, and there’s a rule that I have to be on my back.
      Terry Gross: Why, because your stomach flattens?
      Louis C.K.: Well, no, God, no. I’m not laying back in that bed thinking, “I look awesome right now.” It’s because I think I should always be the victim of the sex. I don’t think anyone wants to see me looming over her. I think that’s an upsetting image. And then also, the mother-dog stomach that I get when I’m … you get the point.

    Yup, that's it. A single person wrote in to complain so they yanked the whole show.

    I have a couple of thoughts on this. First, I'm surprised that anyone makes it through one of these shows because Terry Gross talks like she has been hypnotized.

    Second... really? He didn't use crude language. He didn't even describe anything graphic. He just mentioned the word "sex". Sadly, that is all take takes these days. We can't have adult conversations about things that we all have in common and something that is completely natural to us. The great thing about Loius is that his act and his show are reflections on things that we can all relate to. What guy hasn't wanted (at least once) to keep his shirt on during sex? Who doesn't feel that way (sometimes) when naked? But just the thought of the act is taboo in some circles.

    We haven't quite kicked our insanely outdated Puritanical "values" yet.


    My mother-in-law was over the other day to watch something that we had recorded for her - a "documentary" on the fraud capital of New York, Lily Dale (a town whose psychic heritage goes back to two women that later admitted they were fakes and showed how easy it was to do). After she watched it we had a long discussion about psychics, mediums, holistic healers and other such nonsense.

    I've talked about this before so there is no need to re-has the details. The guts of the discussion centered around the fact that you can logically debunk these people without having to do any leg work. After all, these carnies wouldn't be hiding out in rural New York servicing senior citizens if there was anything to it. Can you imagine the people in hospitals that could be healed? Can you imagine the crimes that we could solve talking to murder victims? No, that never happens. Instead a hazy person that might be Aunt Sally wants you to know that she is alright and that she likes your hair.

    That isn't the point of the blog today. What was interesting was the pained expression that came over my mother-in-laws face. It wasn't that she disagreed with any of these points. It was more that the realization that it is all crap was.... troublesome. On some level it really threw her out of whack. I mean, the look was just painful. She kind of wanted to argue but it was very clear to her that she couldn't formulate an argument. I actually felt a little bad. Don't get me wrong - it was a friendly and open conversation. I think that she just wasn't used to hearing these kinds of things.

    So that leads to today's thought. I know I've talked about this before, but it amazes me how people cling to things without regard to how true or effective they are. And I believe that is where my mother-in-law really struggled - on some level she liked the idea of a mystical or out-of-the-box solution.

    Some of you are probably saying "well if it makes them feel better, so what"? That's the point - these things never deliver. It isn't like you're giving a joint to a cancer patient to make them feel better. These are people that are in pain and seeking real answers. I'm sorry, burning incense while putting a power crystal around your neck isn't going to carry the day. At best these scams offer false and temporary hope. At worst they put people further into depression when they don't come through (and they never do). This was proved in a recent study where they studied people that pray versus those that do not. The people that prayed fared worse in their recoveries, most likely because they realized that their prayers weren't going to be answered.

    I get where it comes from - people lose hope in the logical answers (science and medicine) so they get desperate. But you can't lose your mind in these matters. I'm sorry, the claim of "well they've tried everything else - there is nothing wrong with this kind of stuff" is lame. These "cures" have been proven to be no better than doing nothing yet the fakery industry keeps growing and growing. More people - good people that just want to feel better - think that these claims of cures are valid because they are so prevalent.

    I've realized that this is going to be my own individual passion for the rest of my life. Once again, it isn't to stop someone from going to see these clowns. For me, personal liberties still come first. My goal is to help educate people on reason, logic and all of the good things that come along with them.

    Tonight is my first meeting with the local Buffalo Skeptics group :-).

    A Pillage the Pirate Won't Be Attending   More in JULY   Schlong Pumps - Who Knew?

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